Wearable

A new report by a Taiwanese media outlet claims that a company from the same country may be engaged to help produce the upcoming AirPods Pro Lite. These putative devices are thought to be a more affordable version of Apple's TWS earbuds, and to be released in mid-2020.

Casio has announced the Bruce Lee Collaboration Model, a specially-designed version of its high-end G-SHOCK MR-G watch series. It features a band and case colored to match the martial arts cinema legend's hallmark tracksuit, as well as a case with detailing inspired by the same. There will be only 300 of its units available when it goes on sale.

Mobvoi has launched the TicWatch Pro 2020 on Amazon.com. It has a RAM upgrade, but sticks with the same SoC, design and battery life. Then again, as it still includes a dual display, it should still offer impressive longevity as a wearable.

Numerous chipset foundries, TSMC included, use equipment from US-based firms to make their products. Now, the same nation's current administration may be able to leverage this fact in order to stop the supply of silicon to Huawei. This, apparently, is a new tactic to lock the OEM out of the US market.

House of Marley has released its second-gen TWS earbuds, called the Redemption ANCs. Unlike their predecessors, they resemble Apple AirPods, albeit ones finished in sustainable bamboo. They also have a 4-mic system for voice calls, an IPX4 rating and a case with a USB type C port.

A company called Aria has put its new true-wireless (or TWS) earbuds up for crowdfunding on Indiegogo. This isn't hugely unusual these days - however, these SONG X products distinguish themselves with an innovative "Star Ring" charging case. They are also described as capable of delivering high-quality audio with robust Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity.

The Samsung Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra were launched in their new Cloud- or Cosmic-themed colorways on February 11, 2020. However, other reports have revealed that they have drastically different options on the South Korean market, one of which is Aura Red. A leaker now asserts that these SKUs are also on their way to Europe.

The YHE BP Doctor is a new smartwatch that can measure blood pressure, along with oxygen saturation levels and heart rate variability. All this functionality should make the YHE BP Doctor capable of providing important information about your own health.

After meeting earlier this week to discuss the viability of Mobile World Congress 2020, the GSMA has decided to cancel MWC 2020 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. Multiple companies have stated they would not be in attendance due to the epidemic earlier this month. In response, the GSMA has outright cancelled MWC in its entirety.

The popular online messaging service WhatsApp has reported that it has passed an important milestone: 2 billion users. It emphasized its simple, convenient and private interface in its statement on this matter. Furthermore, it asserted its ongoing commitment to protecting the (doubtless huges amounts of) data sent through it daily.

Recently, a prominent tech vlogger teased a phone with a dual punch-hole camera alleged to contain a groundbreaking 44MP sensor. Now, this device has been revealed as OPPO's Reno3 Pro - but not as its existing fans know it. It has indeed sprouted this improved in-display shooter, but lacks an important marketing point from its original launch.

WhatsApp has secured approval to roll out a new facet of its service in India. It is a new payment platform that has just been approved by the relevant authories. This may help the Facebook-owned app compete effectively with others such as Google Pay/Tez and Paytm in the country.

Apple's Smartwatch outsold all Swiss watchmaker brands combined by 3 to 2 in 2019. Younger consumers prefer smartwatches, a shift that has continually driven sales away from Swiss watchmakers over the past five years. Still, considering their luxury status, it's unlikely that Swiss watchmakers will disappear overnight.

Google has announced that its Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2 is headed to regular retail channels for developers. Although failed as a consumer product, at least in the immediate future, the company has found legs for it in enterprise so much so that demand has warranted its wider availability.

The JEDEC solid-state assocation has unveiled UFS 3.1, the immediate successor for the memory standard found in some of the most premium smartphones out today. The organization asserts that it will build on its last generation in terms of speed and power-efficiency. It also has a new optional companion standard that may further boost read speeds.

The Honor MagicWatch 2 is now available to purchase on Amazon, with prices starting at ~US$210. The 46 mm smartwatch is available on Amazon DE and Amazon UK, with Honor promising up to fourteen days battery life for the device.

Xiaomi has announced that it will keep its brick-and-mortar stores in China closed for several days from January 28, 2020. The OEM has stated that this is to co-operate with governmental efforts to contain the spread of a novel coronavirus that has already claimed numerous lives in the country. However, customers can still order products online if necessary.

Action cameras are a popular device category, particularly among those who want to record their rugged pursuits wherever they go. A new report indicates that the market in question will grow to be worth US$8.9 billion in the next 5 years. This is thought to be influenced by similar performance by the travel and adventure-sports markets worldwide.

According to a new leak, Redmi - which is usually known as a smartphone brand - will launch a fitness tracker soon. It may be of the kind that fits into a silicone wrist-band, and may also have a front-facing capacitive button. This device may have been certified for use in India already.

The latest report on the health- and fitness-tracker market shows that it may achieve a valuation of as much as US$5 billion by 2025. This may be driven by the increasing number of applications and functions for these devices. They may in fact improve to the point that they can be used to help diagnose and prevent illnesses in the future.

Realme recently debuted its first pair of TWS earbuds in India. At 3999 INR (or about US$56), they seem a very reasonably-priced AirPod alternative. However, it now seems the OEM has a 2nd variant in the works which may cost even less.

An Indian electronics authority has approved a new device from Realme described as being part of the "Smart Watches" category. Therefore, it seems this brand is preparing to launch its first wearable of this type in India. If so, it will compete with other OEMs such as Huawei and Garmin in this market.

A study published in The Lancet has concluded that Fitbit use was associated with significant improvements in a technique used to detect influenza and similar conditions. This is due to the heart rate- and activity-monitoring features in these wearables. Therefore, fitness trackers may play a greater role in public health in the future.

Huawei has released its performance for 2019 to the Chinese media. It claims it shipped approximately 240 million units in total that year, 6.9 million of which had 5G. For context, Samsung has announced that it shipped about 6.7 million of the same kind of phone in the same time-frame.

A number of newer Fibit wearables were shipped with SpO2 (or estimated blood oxygen) sensors, which may not have been activated within their systems. However, the OEM has addressed this in a new update. Therefore, compatible devices can now track this additional health metric for their users.

The TicPods 2 and 2 Pro are Mobvoi's new TWS earbuds. They look much like their predecessor: however, this series is the first to feature the OEM's new, proprietary assistant Tico. They also respond to gestures for call answering or dismissal.

LG has announced that its latest truly wireless (or TWS) earbuds are now available to buy in the United States. These Tone Free devices are tuned by Meridian Audio and have a unique UVnano charging case. It also adds up to 21 hours' worth of playback to the LG earbuds.

The Xiaomi Mi Band range is getting another a cost-effective fitness tracker, and one that features a larger touchscreen than its predecessor. The Mi Band 5 will apparently support NFC globally too, and will launch later this year for as little as US$26.

Audio-Technica has packed its Las Vegas showcase with high-tech new products. They include 3 pairs of TWS earbuds, the flagship of which are the QuietPoint ATH-ANC300TW with hybrid noise cancellation. There are also headphones directed at audiophiles, finished with premium materials such as striped ebony.

Samsung subsidiary Harman Kardon has taken the wraps off what it hopes will be able to take on Apple’s AirPods and headphones like the Apple-owned Beats Solo Pro among others. Each of the three new models, in total, also feature Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa support.

A new study of those who use voice-activated searches have found that 64% of this group set the assistant in question off by mistake during December 2019. An accidental press of a hardware button was found to be the culprit in 49% of these cases. In others, an AI "mishearing" a user's speech resulted in these mishaps.

The Amazfit T-Rex is this brand's first smartwatch of 2020. With its MIL-STD-810G rating and 14 sports modes, it is clearly intended for rugged pursuits. Its maker has also updated its Bip series with the S variant, a watch with a 40-day battery life and health-focused AI features.

Amazfit has announced that it's ready for the TWS earbud market in 2020. To this end, it has revealed 2 new products in this category: the PowerBuds and ZenBuds. The former are sports-focused, whereas the latter have been designed by their OEM to help relieve stress and improve sleep quality.

The Wearbuds are well known as the first true-wireless (TWS) earbuds that come with an innovative wrist-band into which they can slot and use to charge, rather than a case that has to be carried around. Now, their maker Aipower has unveiled an updated version of the same at CES 2020.

Xiaomi has unveiled its first smartwatch of 2020 already. The Watch Color has a 1.39-inch circular AMOLED display, and comes in black or silver. It is rated for 14 days' worth of battery life with normal use, and also has other potentially desirable specs such as Bluetooth 5.0, heart-rate tracking and NFC.

Zotac will show off the new VR GO 3.0 backpack PC at CES next week. The updated wearable gaming computer can now be configured with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 GPU, which should greatly improve the VR experience.

A new report published by a Chinese media outlet asserts that the flexible-display maker Visionox has agreed to supply its displays to the OEM Huawei. This agreement will apparently take effect from early 2020. Therefore, this brand (not to mention its subsidiary Honor) could start producing devices with next-gen screens very soon.

Smoke for Steam is a new app for the Apple Watch that lets users access some of the features of Steam on their wrists. Smoke allows users to look at their library, view achievements, check the status of their friends, and read news articles pertaining to titles they own. Otherwise, the app is limited; it doesn't even allow users to manage their game libraries or purchase new titles.

Xiaomi has teased its new Watch Color, a wearable that, unlike its last, has a round face. It is slated to come in a variety of finishes and bands that will give it a total of 1540 different possible looks. This new device will be launched on January 3, 2020.

Today, (December 29, 2019) Xiaomi's CEO Lu Weibing posted to Weibo claiming that the OEM opened no less than 100 brick-and-mortar stores in its native China. These outlets, which were apparently full of potential customers interested in the new Redmi K30 5G, all reportedly started trading at the same time. This achievement rounds off a good 2019 for the company.

If a hands-free speaker with the ability to deliver the kind of charging to match is all you want for the holidays, it seems Xiaomi (nearly) has you covered. It has just certified a device called the Mi Wireless Charger Bluetooth Speaker. It appears to be an audio product with a built-in induction coil for smartphones and other gadgets.

The wearables brand Amazfit is increasingly well-known for its smartwatches. However, it intends to break into new categories of wearable in 2020. They will include the company's first pair of earphones, as well as another teased as a "futuristic" new option for fitness enthusiasts.

Samsung’s rumored Apple Airpods Pro competitor looks like it is nearing release. Regulatory filings for the new headphones have hit the FCC and reveal, among other things, that they will pick up larger batteries.

GoPro has released a new product that is compatible with its pre-existing mounts. However, it is not an action-cam: it is instead a mini LED floodlight intended to be used with one of them, the HERO8 Black. It can also clip onto this device, although it needs a 2nd accessory to do so.

JBL has launched the Reflect Eternal headphones via Indiegogo. The OEM claims that they are capable of self-charging, so that it may never run out of battery life or be dependent on a cable for play-time. This is conferred by Powerfoyle technology, which is found in the device's headband.

Aipower is a start-up that had great success in its crowdfunding endeavors for its Wearbuds product. This is a type of fitness band that also houses a pair of truly wireless (or TWS) earbuds. They will be on show at CES 2020, along with some new products, a smartwatch included.

Realme will debut the X2 in a new market, India, tomorrow (December 17, 2019). It will be joined on stage by the brand's first fully-wireless (or TWS) audio accessories. According to official teasers, they look like AirPods, although they come in more colors.